The ability to mix fluids at microscale may be applied in a variety of industries, such as printing, food, biological, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. Microfluidic mixing devices may be used within these industries to provide miniaturized environments that facilitate the mixing of very small sample volumes such as in chemical synthesis, biomedical diagnostics, drug development, and DNA replication. Microfabrication techniques enable the fabrication of small-scale microfluidic mixing devices on a chip. Enhancing the efficiency of such microfluidic mixing devices is beneficial for increasing the throughput and reducing the cost of various microfluidic systems, such as bio-chemical micro reactors and lab-on-chip systems.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.